It's popular with some, confusing to others, and won't be there much longer, the City of Humboldt says.
A four-way stop has replaced the lights at the intersection of Hwys. 5 and 20 since the Thanksgiving long weekend. On October 8, a tractor trailer knocked down the traffic light pole on the southeast corner of the intersection.
About half of the trailer the semi was pulling was dragged right over the base of the pole, reported Joe Doxey, city director of planning and engineering.
So it didn't just knock the light pole over, it destroyed its base.
That meant, in order to repair it, the base had to be jack-hammered out, repaired, and put back in. That's all been done, and new concrete has been poured to hold the base in place.
That concrete has to cure for about 28 days so that it supports the load, especially the windload, of the light pole above it.
Doxey is hoping they have the light pole back up in mid-November, as long as the concrete cures.
However, some people in Humboldt want the four-way stop to stay.
A Facebook group call "Keep the four-way stop at Highway 5 and Main Street" was created this week.
According to what they have posted, "this group is about recommending to the City of Humboldt that they keep the noted intersection as a permanent four-way stop intersection.
"Since the lights have been non-functional on the intersection of Highway 5 and Main Street in Humboldt for a while now, people have gotten used to the temporary four-way stop at the intersection," the Facebook group claims. "It seems this circumstance may have produced an unplanned solution to traffic issues at the intersection. Traffic seems to be moving smoother, speeds are reduced through the school zones and people are generally paying more attention at the intersection."
As of Friday, 14 people were fans of the group
While some people do like the four-way stop, it appears even from things posted on that Facebook site that not everyone knows how to use a four-way stop correctly.
To help, the city is using their website to remind motorists of the rules of the road when it comes to four-way stops.
And while Doxey said the city is willing to listen to the opinions of all parties when it comes to that intersection, the plan is still to get the lights back up and operational.
The four-way stop "is not really... serving everyone equally," Doxey said.
Pedestrians and trucks especially are having issues with it. Pedestrians are not being allowed to cross, and heavy trucks are either blowing right through the intersection or are not being given a turn to get through because of how long they take to get moving.
"Long-term, it probably won't be safe," Doxey said of having a four-way stop at that location.
There are plans are to change the intersection so that it works better, though. According to a preliminary design that city council has approved, changes to the intersection will involve widening its radius, reshaping the lanes, promoting better lane usage with the use of signs and changing the traffic signals so that they operate more like the new lights on the west side of the city do. Those lights use sensors to detect if a left turn signal is needed or not, at a given time, he explained.
It's hoped these changes won't be too long in the making.
Right now, the city is working on acquiring the property it needs from the property owners at the four corners of the intersection, and are trying to find funds for this project.
It's estimated it will cost about $600,000 to make the necessary changes, Doxey noted.
